Swallowing a Knife.—Performed after the following method, this illusion can be carried out most effectively: Taking a large knife—a carving-knife is not too large—the performer lays it in front of him, right and left. He turns up his coat sleeves, as far as they will go, and then, squaring his elbows, so as to bring the forearms across his body, he places his hands along the knife, one hand overlapping the other, so as to completely hide the knife from view. In the case of a large knife, some parts of it—the ends—will be hidden by the wrists. Nipping it with the thumbs, or with one thumb only, it is raised from the table, the hands keeping their somewhat constrained position upon it. One hand is now brought to the mouth, the other being raised, and an apparent attempt made to swallow, the hands appearing to tilt the knife down the throat. The performer, however, suddenly begins to choke, and the attempt is relinquished, the knife being laid upon the table again. It is, however, immediately raised again, as before, but the second attempt is no more successful than the first. The knife is once more taken in the hands, and, in the act of picking it up, is brought just beyond the edge of the table, and allowed to fall into the lap. It must be barely raised from the table, or else the drop will be observed. The hands are, for the third time, brought to the mouth, as before, when, of course, the swallowing is successfully accomplished. The performer has taken the precaution to have a napkin lying loosely upon his lap, in which the knife at once becomes hidden. The illusion is a very complete one, especially if the performer takes care to make each of his three movements of the hands to the mouth precisely the same, the knife being brought beyond the edge of the table at each abortive attempt, and not at the last one only. If the performer pleases, he may refrain from turning up his coat sleeves, and, when the trick is finished, show them to be empty. Everyone will suppose that the knife has gone down the sleeve, and it, perhaps, provides an extra effect to show that it has not done so. As the position of the hands is somewhat unusual, the performer should be explaining, during the performance of the trick, that the true secret of knife-swallowing lies in the steadiness with which the knife is passed down the throat, this steadiness being better given with two hands than with one. As soon as the trick is safely accomplished, the performer should get his legs well under the table, and, taking the knife with one hand, place it under his knees, where it must be gripped, or else stick it in his boot. The hand is supposed to be placed below merely to procure the napkin, which is instantly produced, and the performer's lips carelessly wiped with it. He can then push his chair away from the table, and, leaning back, so as to expose his lap, join in the conversation, or, better still, at once commence a fresh trick. The thoughts of the company diverted, the knife may presently be brought to light from under someone's coat, or the performer may simply secrete it in his napkin, and place them together upon the table.
A smaller knife can be very effectively swallowed as follows: A cheese-knife is placed on the table, edge downwards, the left hand retaining it in that position by holding it near the point of the blade. It is then picked up by the right hand, the first and second fingers of which nip the back of the blade, close to the point, about half an inch of which is purposely left visible. The rest of the knife lies along the inside of the hand, the handle being concealed by the wrist. The handle is brought to the mouth, the knife being held upright, and the left hand, by means of gentle taps, thrusts it gradually downwards, until it wholly disappears down the throat. This illusion is managed within an inch or so of the end of a precisely similar knife to that supposed to be swallowed. This the performer has concealed between two fingers, and, when the knife is picked up, it is brought into position at the ends by means of the left hand, which is all the time busy helping the right one. The knife is, of course, at once dropped into the lap, the eyes of the company being fixed upon the little piece visible, which they naturally take to be the actual point of the knife. With the palm of the hand a few taps should be given the fragment, so as to cause it to slide out of sight, but still held between the fingers. The tapping is continued with the left hand, although it is performing upon nothing, the throat of the performer giving forth choking sounds, to assist the deception, until the knife may be fairly supposed to be swallowed. The fragment of knife is treated precisely as a coin held by the finger palm, and may be placed in the vest pocket, under the plea of getting out a toothpick. It should have its ragged edge nicely smoothed, so as not to cut the fingers.
[CHAPTER VIII.]
TRICKS WITH CARDS.
THE VALUE OF CARD TRICKS—THE CARDS—WHERE TO PROCURE THEM—THE DOUBLE-HANDED PASS—SINGLE-HANDED PASSES—THE DIAGONAL PASS—THE FALSE SHUFFLE—TRICKS WITH PASS AND FALSE SHUFFLE—TO CAUSE A CARD TO SHOW ITSELF—THE ATTACHED CARD—THE CONGENIAL ACES—THE REVERSED CARD—THE TRAVELLING CARD—THE LADY'S OWN TRICK—A RAPID CHANGE PASS—METHODS FOR USING SAME—THE CHANGE—ITS USES—THE PALM—ON PALMING A SINGLE CARD—ON PALMING MANY CARDS—ON VANISHING A PACK—METHODS FOR USING THE PALM—TRICKS COMBINING PALM AND CHANGE PASS—THE SLIDE—ITS USES—THE FORCE—ON FORCING PACKS—LA CARTE GÉNÉRALE—SYMPATHETIC CARDS, OR "HOLD THEM TIGHT!"—HOW TO PASS A CARD THROUGH A PERSON—TO DIVINE A CARD THOUGHT OF—METHOD OF MAKING A CHOOSER THINK OF A CERTAIN CARD—A CARD MADE TO APPEAR ANYWHERE IN THE PACK—CARD BOXES—TRICKS WITH SAME—HOW TO THROW CARDS—THE REVOLUTION—PREPARED CARDS—CUT PACKS—LONG AND BROAD CARDS—PRICKED CARDS—CHAMELEON CARDS—METHODS AFFECTED BY BUATIER AND HOUDIN—HOUDIN'S SUPERIORITY—THE TRAVELLING CARDS—THE ASSEMBLY: METHODS FOR PALM, PASS AND CHANGE—THOUGHT-READING EXTRAORDINARY—GAME AT NAPOLEON—LIGHTNING CHANGE—CONCLUSION.
Having shown the beginner what can be done with the ordinary objects of everyday use, I will now endeavour to instruct him in the skilful manipulation of cards. By his success or failure in this particular branch of legerdemain will his reputation as a conjuror be made or marred. Card tricks, more than anything else, demand sleight of hand pure and simple, and success with them can only be attained by assiduous practice. To the learner some of the following directions will at first appear impossible of execution, owing to the unaccustomed positions in which the fingers have to be placed; but a little resolution will soon overcome all obstacles, and when once success, however trifling, has been achieved, greater results will speedily follow. In conjuring, as in most things, everything that is at all worthy of accomplishment requires some little trouble; and the learner must, therefore, not be disheartened if his early efforts are not crowned with success commensurate with his wishes. There is no disguising the fact that card tricks which owe their accomplishment to sleight of hand (and they are the only ones worthy of the conjuror's consideration) are difficult—in many cases exceedingly so; but this fact ought only to make one extra energetic in mastering them. Amateur conjurors of every grade I have met with, but those skilful with cards I can count upon the fingers of one hand.
Before everything, let me inform the reader of one fact, not by any means universally known, which is that the cards generally used by conjurors are considerably smaller than those in ordinary use.[A] I will not say that it is impossible to conjure successfully with ordinary cards, because I know of very clever conjurors who use the full-sized card, but they have strong hands; but the advantage of using smaller ones is so marked that anyone thinking seriously of practising sleight of hand should provide himself with some small-sized packs. Many use the French cards, but I find them far too flimsy for many things. The best are those made by nearly all the large English card manufacturers for conjuring purposes. Bancks Brothers, Glasshouse-street, London, are, perhaps, as good as anyone. Should the reader be unable to procure these small cards, he can provide very fair substitutes by having an ordinary pack shaved at the edges, and so reduced in size.
To enumerate every card trick individually would necessitate a separate volume, so numerous are the varieties of changes capable of being introduced. All the teacher can do is to instruct in the general principles, by means of which the results are brought about, and to give illustrations of the actions of the same. Accident or design will enable the performer to vary his tricks in hundreds of ways.